"But like a breakup, you've got to dust yourself off eventually, start to make moves and do a little dancing in the dark."

Today Donald Trump is officially sworn in as president, and hundreds of thousands of women will prepare to throw on their sneakers and protest in cities around the world. Valerie Nguyen, Landis Hosterman, and Julie Heath, however, will step into stilettos.

That’s because the University of Texas, UCLA, and Penn grads, respectively, are throwing an “inaugural ball” in New York City that evening — but they won’t be celebrating. Instead, the women, along with four of their male peers, will host an “UNaugural Ball” to protest Trump’s presidency.

How can a black-tie optional event at the Bowery Ballroom be a political statement? Well, for starters, all of the proceeds from the tickets sold will go to four anti-Trump charities: Planned Parenthood, ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the NRDC — the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Thomas Vladeck, a graduate of Penn’s Wharton School of Business (ironically Trump’s alma mater,) grew up in D.C. and saw how inaugurals balls were a huge deal. He sent an email with his protest idea to about 20 friends after the election, including Nguyen, Hosterman, and Heath, and the event was born.

For Nguyen, helping out wasn’t a question. Her family came to America as refugees during the Vietnam War. The election left her feeling like she was experiencing a breakup.

“But like a breakup, you've got to dust yourself off eventually, start to make moves and do a little dancing in the dark. That’s where the UNaugural Ball came in,” she told Teen Vogue. “Positive change comes from positivity.”

The seven post-grads rallied their friends on social media, who rallied their friends, and started to sell tickets via an Eventbrite page on December 15. A little more than a month later, the group had 275 (and counting) attendees for their ball — and raised over $25,000 for the charities.

Being able to give the organizations the money, Planned Parenthood especially, means a lot to Heath.

“I grew up in a red state, with an extremely conservative family, and a school system that did not believe in sexual education,” she said. “I learned everything I knew about sex from Planned Parenthood (along with various pieces of misinformation from well-intentioned but equally ignorant friends).”

Hosterman agreed to co-host the event because she doesn’t want her four sisters to think that the president-elect’s actions are okay, or worse, normal.

“Over the next four years I want to remind all young women that this is not normal, not acceptable, and not okay,” she said.

But she and her group aren’t the only ones to flip the inaugural ball on its head. This week, a group of asylum lawyers, non-profit organizations, mental health professionals, and academics hosted a “counter ball” of their own called “Refugee Ball” in Washington.

“The purpose of the ball is to demonstrate solidarity with our refugee and immigrant neighbors and to show them that they are not alone. Also, we want to help educate the wider community on the positive aspects and contributions that refugees and immigrants make to our society,” the event page read.

In addition to food, art and music, the hosts provided free legal services to attendees.

The UNaugural ball crew hope to provide their guests with similar fanfare — and assure them that they are capable of enacting change.

“Having our own ball felt like an appropriate way to show that we’re not going to just stand down and shrink from the challenge,” Vladeck said. “We’re going to celebrate too - maybe not winning - but we can still celebrate coming together and renewing our commitment to civic life.”

The fight for the women, Nguyen especially, will continue after the ball’s last call. After taking off her heels, she’ll slip into sneakers and head down to D.C. for the Women’s March.

“I’m ready to take it to the streets in my Nikes as much as I’m ready to throw a charity event in my stilettos,” she told Teen Vogue. “We are each other’s greatest assets. The UNaugural Ball took a village, and it’s going to take a village for America moving forward.”